The City Council of the City of New Hampton met in regular session in the Council Chambers at 112 East Spring Street, New Hampton Iowa at 7:00 p.m. Monday, January 19, 2026. Mayor Geerts called the meeting to order. Council members present were Kiffel, Larsen, McGrath, Schwickerath, Speltz. Denner was absent. Also in attendance were City Attorney Todd Prichard (via telephone), Conrad Rosendahl, Casey Mai, Tammy Robinson, Bob Fenske, Jeff Bernatz, Amanda Webb with Hacker Nelson, police officers Lucas Kleckner, Jace Hall and Cory Frank.
1. Approve regular City Council minutes of January 5, 2026.
2. Approve city claims of $56,689.18
3. Fire Dept minutes of January 5, 2026
4. Library Board minutes of January 6, 2026
5. Park & Rec. minutes of December 10, 2025 & January 7, 2026
6. Department head minutes of January 6, 2026
7. Class B Alcohol License: Dollar General, 809 N Linn Ave.
8. Request for Board of Adjustment Rehearing Nicholas and Lindsey Valentini
9. Everybody Hurts Committee 5K route request
10. Finance reports
Mayor Geerts requested that Item K. Resolution Amending Rise Grant Application Financial Commitment be removed from the agenda. Moved by Larsen, seconded by Schwickerath; That the Consent agenda be approved as amended. Ayes – Five. Nays – None. Absent – Denner. Motion carried.
Amanda Webb, auditor with Hacker Nelson, shared the findings on the FY 2024/2025 audit. Moved by Larsen, seconded by Schwickerath; that the FY 2024/2025 audit for the City of New Hampton be approved and filed with the Iowa State Auditor’s office. Ayes – Five. Nays – None. Absent – Denner. Motion carried.
Police officer, Cory Frank, requested additional unpaid leave from the City Council. At the December 15, 2025 meeting, the council approved additional unpaid leave until January 19, 2026. Frank shared a timeline of his upcoming medical appointments and he anticipates he can resume full time police department activities in approximately 3 months. Police Chief Conrad Rosendahl is willing to allow Frank to work in an administrative position up to 3 months. Moved by McGrath, seconded by Larsen; To extend the unpaid leave for police officer Cory Frank until February 16, 2026 be approved. Ayes – Five. Nays – None. Absent – Denner. Motion carried.
City Attorney Todd Prichard arrived at 7:34 pm
Police Chief Conrad Rosendahl requested permission from the City Council to advertise to hire a police officer. The department will be short two officers when Officer Kleckner begins his K9 training in March 2026. Moved by Larsen, seconded by Schwickerath; To allow Police Chief Conrad Rosendahl to advertise for part time certified police officer(s) and set the wage as allowed by the Union agreement, be approved. Ayes – Five. Nays – None. Absent – Denner. Motion carried. City Attorney Prichard commented that the part time position does not fall under the Union Agreement and Rosendahl can determine the rate of pay that is fair and equitable.
Police Chief Conrad Rosendahl requested compensation for the K9 handlers in the NHPD as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires agencies to pay for compensable time. Rosendahl is requesting compensation of ½ hour of regular pay per day; this would be 7 hours of regular pay per each pay period. Officer Kleckner will be assuming the duties of the K9 officer on February 1, 2026 and his compensable time would begin then. Rosendahl has been the K9 officer since July 20, 2025 and is requesting compensation at the same rate for the time of 7/20/25 through 1/31/26. Compensation for the previous pay periods is 94.5 hours of additional regular pay. Moved by Kiffel, seconded by Larsen; Resolution No. 6785 A RESOLUTION APPROVING K9 OFFICE PAY, be approved. Ayes – Kiffel, Larsen, McGrath, Schwickerath, Speltz. Nays – None. Absent – Denner. Resolution approved.
Police Chief Conrad Rosendahl requested a modification to the existing Comp Time policy, previously established in Resolution No. 6664. Under the old resolution, the Chief only earned comp time after working 90 hours in a pay period. Rosendahl is requesting to earn comp time once he has worked 80 hours.
Moved by Speltz, seconded by McGrath; To recess the meeting at 7:51 pm. Ayes – Five. Nays – None. Absent – Denner. Motion carried.
Regular session resumed at 8:02 pm.
Rosendahl is requesting reimbursement of the hours he has worked since July 12, 2025. To date, Rosendahl has worked 164.25 overtime hours and been compensated for 97.75 of those hours. His request is payment for the remaining 66.5 hours. Moved by McGrath, seconded by Kiffel; That Resolution No. 6786 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING 66.5 HOURS OF HOURLY PAY FOR POLICE CHIEF CONRAD ROSENDAHL FOR OVERTIME HOURS WORKED SINCE JULY 12, 2025, be approved. Ayes- Kiffel, Larsen, McGrath, Speltz. Nays – None. Absent – Denner and Schwickerath. Resolution approved.
Moved by Larsen, seconded by McGrath; That Resolution No. 6787 AT THE REQUEST OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE RESOLUTION TO RESCIND RESOLUTION NO 6664 AND AUTHORIZING THE CHIEF OF POLICE RECEIVE HOUR FOR HOUR COMP TIME FOR HOURS WORKED OVER 80 HOURS IN A PAY PERIOD, be approved. Ayes- Kiffel, Larsen, McGrath, Speltz. Nays – None. Absent – Denner and Schwickerath. Resolution approved
A&R Land services provided reports for the eminent domain values for the Croell Redi Mix Inc. property and the Joseph and Phyllis Leibold property for the Wastewater Treatment Project. Moved by Larsen, seconded by Speltz; To approve the appraisal reports for Croell Redi Mix, Inc. and Joseph and Phyllis Leibold Revocable Trust and to proceed with the land acquisition and easement negotiations for the Wastewater Treatment Plant project, be approved. Ayes – Four. Nays – None. Absent – Denner & Schwickerath. Motion carried.
Public Works Director Casey Mai explained the changes in the amendment from Strand Associates for the wastewater treatment plant facility project. The force sewer main and the main lift station need to be moved from the original planned locations. Amendment No 1 allows for these changes to the 2023 Wastewater Treatment Plant Facility.
Moved by McGrath, seconded by Speltz; To approve Amendment No. 1 for the 2023 Wastewater Treatment Plant Facility Plan, be approved. Ayes – Four. Nays – None. Absent – Denner & Schwickerath. Motion carried.
Ryan Schawver, Chickasaw County sheriff, has provided an agreement for dispatching services for communication services for FY 2027. The annual fee increase is 2% with the total amount due of $64,149.84. Moved by Larsen, seconded by Speltz. That Resolution No. 6788 A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN AGREEMENT WITH CHICKASAW COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE FOR DISPATCHING SERVICES FOR FY 2026/2027, be approved. Ayes- Kiffel, Larsen, McGrath, Speltz. Nays – None. Absent – Denner and Schwickerath. Resolution approved
The Council discussed providing video coverage of council meetings for additional transparency. No action was taken.
City Attorney Todd Prichard has requested to precede with the eminent domain proceedings for the storm water easement at 2000 Parker Street. Moved by Larsen, seconded by Kiffel; That Resolution No. 6789 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ACQUISITION OF A STORM WATER DRAINAGE EASEMENT BY EMINENT DOMAIN, be approved. Ayes- Kiffel, Larsen, McGrath, Speltz. Nays – None. Absent – Denner and Schwickerath. Resolution approved
City Clerk Karen Clemens informed the council that the Board of Adjustment has scheduled a meeting for January 26th at 5:30 pm to determine if a rehearing will be granted for Nicholas and Lindsey Valentini’s variance request.
PWD Director Casey Mai informed the council that there is a stormwater committee meeting with council members, SEH engineers, Precision of New Hampton representative (s) to discuss the Hydraulic Report provided by SEH, Inc as necessitated by the construction of a building over a storm water main on property owned by Precision of New Hampton.
Moved by Kiffel, seconded by McGrath; that the meeting adjourn at 8:54 pm Ayes – Four. Nays – None. Absent – Denner and Schwickerath. Motion carried.
